Big 10: Looking at the little things

As he oversees six to eight growers at Bob’s Market and Greenhouses Inc., Rick Barnitz constantly reminds them how the attention to detail is what makes all the difference for the company, one of the largest producers of young plants in the nation.

“Paying attention to the little details is a major thing. Everything that you do to a crop, each and every day, may seem little, but it can be very important in what the end-product result is,” says Barnitz, vice president and head grower. “I always tell my growers, ‘You can change a plug quickly, good or bad.’”

One of the things he really hones in on is growth regulators. He says he sees growers over-dosing plants with them.

“We try to produce plugs that will consistently take off and grow for the customer,” he says. “We offer up to the customer what we’ve done to our crop in the four or five or six weeks, so they can look at it and say, ‘I know I don’t need to regulate this for a while because he just regulated it.’ Or, ‘He just sprayed it with insecticide, I know I can get by the next couple weeks without doing that.’”

Bob’s Market and Greenhouses’ goal is to always offer a plug that is going to be insect-free, disease-free and not overdosed with regulator.

But Barnitz realizes that nobody’s perfect, and mistakes happen. The company has been able to increase its poinsettia production from 6,000 to 30,000, but Barnitz has had some trouble with some.

“I think we allowed our pH to get too low,” he says. “I’ve got a little burn and leaf distortion. So there’s a tip from experience that I messed some up, because we weren’t paying attention too close.”

The company isn’t just focused on production, though. Recently it purchased a wholesale distributing center in Pittsburgh from a previous customer, and Barnitz expects the company’s annual revenue to increase from $14 million to $17 million.
 

For more: Bob’s Market and Greenhouses Inc., (304) 773-5437 or www.bobsmarket.com